JP5951081B2 - Torque converter lockup device - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a lockup device, and more particularly, to a lockup device for a torque converter disposed between a front cover connected to a member on an engine side and a turbine of the torque converter.

  In the torque converter, a lockup device is provided to reduce fuel consumption. The lockup device is disposed between the turbine and the front cover, and mechanically connects the front cover and the turbine to directly transmit torque between the two.

  The lockup device generally includes a piston and a damper mechanism having a plurality of torsion springs. The piston is pressed against the front cover by the action of hydraulic pressure, and torque is transmitted from the front cover. The piston is elastically connected to an output member connected to the turbine by a plurality of torsion springs. In such a lockup device, the torque transmitted to the piston is transmitted to the output side member via a plurality of torsion springs and further transmitted to the turbine.

  Further, in the lock-up device disclosed in Patent Document 1, a dynamic damper device including an inertia member is provided to suppress fluctuations in engine rotation. In the dynamic damper device disclosed in Patent Document 1, a plate is fixed to a turbine shell, and an inertia member is attached to the plate so as to be relatively rotatable. A coil spring is provided between the plate and the inertia member.

Japanese Patent No. 5555784

  In the dynamic damper device of Patent Document 1, the dynamic damper device is welded and fixed to the turbine shell. For this reason, there are many manufacturing processes and it is complicated. In addition, the number of members for configuring the dynamic damper device increases, which hinders cost reduction.

  An object of the present invention is to provide a dynamic damper device that has a simple configuration and can reduce manufacturing costs.

  A torque converter lockup device according to an aspect of the present invention is disposed between a front cover coupled to a member on an engine side and a turbine of the torque converter. The lockup device includes a clutch portion, an input side plate, an output side plate, a damper portion, and a dynamic damper device. Torque is input from the front cover to the clutch unit. Torque is input from the clutch portion to the input side plate. The output side plate is rotatable relative to the input side plate and is connected to the turbine. The damper portion elastically connects the input side plate and the output side plate in the rotation direction. The dynamic damper device is provided on the outer peripheral portion of the output side plate, and attenuates rotational speed fluctuations.

  In this apparatus, the torque input from the front cover is input to the input side plate via the clutch portion, and is output to the turbine via the damper portion and the output side plate. A dynamic damper device is provided on the outer periphery of the output side plate, and fluctuations in rotational speed can be suppressed by this dynamic damper device.

  Here, since the dynamic damper device is provided on the outer peripheral portion of the output side plate, work such as welding to the turbine shell becomes unnecessary. Therefore, the configuration and the manufacturing process are simplified. Further, unlike the conventional apparatus, a plate as a separate member fixed to the turbine shell becomes unnecessary, and the cost can be suppressed.

  In the lock-up device for a torque converter according to another aspect of the present invention, the output side plate has a first plate and a second plate that are arranged opposite to each other in the axial direction and connected to each other. The input side plate is disposed between the first plate and the second plate in the axial direction.

  In the torque converter lockup device according to still another aspect of the present invention, the dynamic damper device is disposed on the outer peripheral side of the torus center of the torque converter.

  A relatively wide space is generally formed on the outer peripheral side of the torque converter. Therefore, by arranging the dynamic damper device in this space, the axial dimension of the entire device can be shortened.

  In a lockup device for a torque converter according to still another aspect of the present invention, the dynamic damper device includes a first inertia ring, a second inertia ring, and a plurality of elastic members. The first inertia ring and the second inertia ring are disposed so as to sandwich the outer peripheral portion of the output side plate in the axial direction and are relatively rotatable with the output side plate, and are connected to each other so as not to be relatively rotatable. The plurality of elastic members elastically connect the output side plate and the first and second inertia rings in the rotation direction.

  Here, since the outer peripheral portion of the output side plate is used as a part of the dynamic damper device, a plate as a separate member as in the conventional device is not necessary as described above.

  In the lock-up device for a torque converter according to still another aspect of the present invention, the first and second inertia rings have a window portion that houses an elastic member. The window part has an end face that contacts both ends of the elastic member in the rotational direction and a restricting part that restricts movement of the elastic member in the axial direction.

  Here, the elastic member is accommodated in the window portions of the first and second inertia rings. The end face of the elastic member is in contact with the end face of the window portion. Further, the movement of the elastic member in the axial direction is restricted by the restriction part of the window part.

  In the torque converter lock-up device according to still another aspect of the present invention, the elastic member is an arc-shaped coil spring.

  Here, the elastic member of the dynamic damper device is an arc-shaped coil spring (so-called arc spring). For this reason, hysteresis torque can be generated in a relatively low rotational speed range, and fluctuations in rotational speed can be effectively suppressed even in a low rotational speed range.

  In the torque converter lock-up device according to still another aspect of the present invention, the elastic member is disposed on the outer peripheral side of the torque converter torus and at a position overlapping the torus in the axial direction.

  In this device, the elastic member of the dynamic damper device is arranged in a space on the outer peripheral side from the torus of the torque converter, and is arranged at a position overlapping the torus in the axial direction. For this reason, the axial direction dimension of the whole apparatus can be shortened.

  In the torque converter lockup device according to still another aspect of the present invention, the damper portion includes an outer peripheral damper portion and an inner peripheral damper portion. The outer peripheral damper portion has a plurality of outer peripheral torsion springs to which torque from the front cover is input. The inner circumferential damper portion is disposed on the inner circumferential side of the outer circumferential damper portion and has a plurality of inner circumferential torsion springs that transmit torque to the output side plate. Further, the input side plate is formed in an annular shape, and has an outer peripheral side engaging portion that engages with the outer peripheral side torsion spring on the outer peripheral portion, and an inner side that engages with the inner peripheral side torsion spring. It has a peripheral side engaging part.

  In the torque converter lockup device according to still another aspect of the present invention, at least one of the outer peripheral side torsion spring and the inner peripheral side torsion spring is an arc-shaped coil spring.

  Here, since at least one of the outer peripheral side torsion spring and the inner peripheral side torsion spring is formed in an arc shape, it is possible to realize low rigidity of the torsional characteristics and widening of the torsion angle.

  In the torque converter lockup device according to still another aspect of the present invention, the drive that is fixed to the front cover and partially engages with the outer peripheral torsion spring to transmit the torque from the front cover to the outer peripheral torsion spring. A plate is further provided.

  As described above, according to the present invention, the dynamic damper device of the lockup device can be realized with a simple configuration and at a low manufacturing cost.

The cross-sectional block diagram of the torque converter by one Embodiment of this invention. The figure which extracts and shows the lockup apparatus of FIG. The cross-sectional block diagram of a stopper mechanism. The figure which extracts and shows the dynamic damper apparatus of FIG. The front fragmentary view of a dynamic damper apparatus.

[overall structure]
FIG. 1 shows a torque converter 1 according to an embodiment of the present invention. An engine is arranged on the left side of FIG. 1, and a torque converter and a transmission are arranged on the right side of FIG. OO shown in FIG. 1 is a rotating shaft of the torque converter.

  The torque converter 1 is a device for transmitting torque from a crankshaft (not shown) on the engine side to an input shaft of a transmission. The torque converter 1 includes a front cover 2 fixed to a member on the engine side, a torque converter body 6 including three types of impellers (an impeller 3, a turbine 4, and a stator 5), and a lockup device 7. ing.

  The front cover 2 is a disk-shaped member, and an outer peripheral cylindrical portion 10 that protrudes toward the transmission is formed on the outer peripheral portion thereof. The impeller 3 includes an impeller shell 3a fixed to the outer peripheral cylindrical portion 10 of the front cover 2 by welding, a plurality of impeller blades 3b fixed to the inside of the impeller shell 3a, and a core 3c that supports the plurality of impeller blades 3b. And have. Moreover, the impeller 3 has the impeller hub 12 provided in the inner peripheral side of the impeller shell 3a.

  The turbine 4 is disposed to face the impeller 3 in the fluid chamber. The turbine 4 includes a turbine shell 4a, a plurality of turbine blades 4b fixed inside the turbine shell 4a, and a core 4c that supports the plurality of turbine blades 4b. The turbine 4 has a turbine hub 13 fixed to the inner peripheral side of the turbine shell 4a. The turbine hub 13 has a flange 13a extending to the outer peripheral side and a cylindrical portion 13b extending to the engine side. The inner peripheral portion of the turbine shell 4 a is fixed to the flange 13 a of the turbine hub 13 by a plurality of rivets 14. An input shaft of a transmission (not shown) is spline-engaged with the inner peripheral portion of the turbine hub 13.

  The stator 5 is a mechanism for rectifying hydraulic fluid that is disposed between the impeller 3 and the inner peripheral portion of the turbine 4 and returns from the turbine 4 to the impeller 3. The stator 5 mainly includes a stator carrier 5a, a plurality of stator blades 5b provided on the outer peripheral surface thereof, and a core 5c formed on the outer peripheral portion of the stator blade 5b. The stator carrier 5a is supported by a fixed shaft (not shown) via a one-way clutch 15.

  In FIG. 1, the center of the torus is indicated by “C”. The center C of the torus is the center of the space surrounded by the impeller 3, the turbine 4, and the cores 3c, 4c, 5c of the stator 5.

[Overall Configuration of Lockup Device 7]
FIG. 2 shows the lock-up device 7 extracted from FIG. The lockup device 7 is disposed in a space between the front cover 2 and the turbine 4. The lock-up device 7 includes a piston 20, a drive plate 21, a plurality of outer peripheral side torsion springs (outer peripheral side damper portions) 22, a driven plate (a pair of output side plates) 23, and a plurality of inner peripheral side torsion springs. (Inner peripheral side damper part) 24, intermediate member 25 (input side plate), and dynamic damper device 26 are provided.

[Piston 20]
The piston 20 is a disk-shaped plate and is disposed on the transmission side of the front cover 2. A cylindrical portion 20 a extending toward the transmission side is formed at the inner peripheral end of the piston 20. The cylindrical portion 20a of the piston 20 is supported on the outer peripheral surface of the cylindrical portion 13b of the turbine hub 13 so as to be axially movable and relatively rotatable. A flat portion 20 b is formed on the outer periphery of the piston 20. An annular friction material 28 is fixed to the surface of the flat portion 20b on the front cover 2 side. When the friction material 28 is pressed against the front cover 2, torque is transmitted from the front cover 2 to the piston 20. That is, the piston 20 and the friction material 28 constitute a clutch portion.

[Drive plate 21]
The drive plate 21 is fixed to the side surface on the transmission side in the outer peripheral portion of the piston 20. Specifically, the drive plate 21 is formed in a disk shape, and the inner peripheral portion 21 a is fixed to the transmission-side surface of the piston 20 by a rivet 30.

  As shown in FIG. 2, a plurality of engaging portions 21 b are formed on the outer peripheral portion of the drive plate 21. The engaging portion 21b has a portion obtained by pressing the intermediate portion of the drive plate 21 toward the transmission side, and a portion obtained by bending the outer peripheral end portion toward the transmission side and the inner peripheral side. The engaging portion 21 b is engaged with both ends of the outer peripheral side torsion spring 22 in the circumferential direction.

  In the drive plate 21, a spring support portion 21c is formed in a portion other than the portion where the engagement portion 21b is formed. The spring support portion 21 c is formed by bending the outer peripheral portion and the radial intermediate portion of the drive plate 21 toward the transmission side, and supports the outer peripheral side and the inner peripheral side of the outer peripheral side torsion spring 22.

  A plurality of contact portions 21 d for stoppers are formed on a part of the spring support portion 21 c that supports the inner peripheral side of the outer peripheral side torsion spring 22. The contact portion 21d is formed by bending a part of the spring support portion 21c to the inner peripheral side.

[Outer peripheral side torsion spring 22]
Each of the plurality of outer peripheral side torsion springs 22 is an arc spring formed in an arc shape. More specifically, the outer peripheral torsion spring 22 has a shape that maintains an arc shape in a free state that is not incorporated in the lockup device 7.

  Here, since the outer peripheral side torsion spring 22 is an arc spring, when the outer peripheral side torsion spring 22 operates, the outer peripheral side spring support portion 21c and the outer peripheral side torsion spring 22 come into relatively strong contact. . Therefore, the hysteresis torque generated between the outer peripheral side torsion spring 22 and the drive plate 21 is relatively large.

[Driven plate 23]
The driven plate 23 includes a first plate 32 disposed on the engine side and a second plate 33 disposed on the transmission side. The first plate 32 and the second plate 33 are formed in a disc shape.

  The inner peripheral portion of the first plate 32 and the inner peripheral portion of the second plate 33 are fixed to the flange 13 a of the turbine hub 13 by rivets 14. The outer peripheral portions of both plates 32 and 33 are fixed by a stop pin 35 at a predetermined interval in the axial direction. That is, the first plate 32 and the second plate 33 are arranged to face each other with a gap in the axial direction except for the inner peripheral portion fixed to each other. Here, both plates 32 and 33 cannot rotate relative to the turbine hub 13 and cannot move in the axial direction.

  Window portions 32 a and 33 a are formed in the intermediate portion in the radial direction of the first plate 32 and the second plate 33. The outer peripheral edge and the inner peripheral edge of the window portions 32a and 33a are cut and raised outward in the axial direction. The window portions 32a and 33a restrict the axial and radial movement of the inner peripheral torsion spring 24.

[Inner circumference side torsion spring 24 and intermediate member 25]
The intermediate member 25 is disposed between the axial directions of the drive plate 21 and the turbine 4 and between the first plate 32 and the second plate 33. The intermediate member 25 receives torque from the front cover 2 via the drive plate 21 and the outer peripheral side torsion spring 22. The intermediate member 25 is rotatable relative to the drive plate 21 and the driven plate 23.

  The intermediate member 25 is an annular and plate-shaped member, and includes a plurality of outer peripheral side engaging portions 25a, a plurality of long holes 25b, and a plurality of spring accommodating openings (inner peripheral side engaging portions) 25c. Have.

  The outer peripheral side engaging portions 25 a are provided at predetermined intervals in the circumferential direction at the outer peripheral end portion of the intermediate member 25. The outer peripheral side engaging portion 25a is formed by bending the outer peripheral end portion of the intermediate member 25 toward the engine side. The outer peripheral engagement portion 25 a is disposed between two adjacent outer peripheral torsion springs 22, and engages with one end of one outer peripheral torsion spring 22 and the other end of the other outer peripheral torsion spring 22. ing.

  The plurality of long holes 25b are formed at predetermined intervals in the circumferential direction on the inner peripheral side of the outer peripheral side engaging portion 25a. The long hole 25b is long in the circumferential direction and formed in an arc shape. A stop pin 35 passes through the long hole 25b. Therefore, the driven plate 23 and the intermediate member 25 can rotate relative to each other within a range in which the stop pin 35 can move inside the long hole 25b. In other words, relative rotation between the driven plate 23 and the intermediate member 25 is prohibited by the stop pin 35 coming into contact with the end face of the long hole 25b.

  The plurality of openings 25c are formed at predetermined intervals in the circumferential direction on the inner peripheral side of the long hole 25b. The inner periphery side torsion spring 24 is accommodated in the opening 25c. An end surface of the opening 25 c is an inner peripheral side engaging portion that contacts the end surface of the inner peripheral side torsion spring 24.

[Stopper mechanism]
This lock-up device 7 has a stopper mechanism 40 for regulating the relative rotation angle between the drive plate 21 and the driven plate 23 (specifically, the first plate 32). The stopper mechanism 40 is formed on the outer peripheral end of the first plate 32 of the driven plate 23 and the abutting portion 21d provided on a part of the spring support portion 21c of the drive plate 21 as shown in FIG. Stopper claw 32b. The contact portion 21d and the stopper claw 32b are formed at positions that overlap in the radial direction.

  As described above, the contact portion 21d is formed by bending a part of the spring support portion 21c toward the inner peripheral side. The contact portions 21d are formed at predetermined intervals in the circumferential direction. Therefore, relative rotation between the drive plate 21 and the driven plate 23 is possible within a range in which the stopper claw 32b can move between adjacent contact portions 21d. In other words, the stopper claw 32b abuts against the abutting portion 21d, thereby prohibiting relative rotation between the two.

[Dynamic damper device 26]
The dynamic damper device 26 is provided on the outer periphery of the second plate 33 that constitutes the driven plate 23. As shown in FIG. 4, the dynamic damper device 26 includes a first inertia ring 41, a second inertia ring 42, and a plurality of coil springs (elastic members) 43.

  The second plate 33 extends further to the outer peripheral side than the outer periphery of the torque converter body 6. Moreover, the outer peripheral part of the 2nd plate 33 has the flat part 33b offset from the other part to the transmission side. In the flat portion 33b, openings 33c are formed at predetermined intervals in the circumferential direction.

  The first inertia ring 41 and the second inertia ring 42 are disposed so as to sandwich the flat portion 33 b of the second plate 33 in the axial direction and to be rotatable relative to the second plate 33. As shown in FIG. 5, the first inertia ring 41 and the second inertia ring 42 are fixed to each other by a rivet 44 at a portion where the opening 33 c is not formed. Therefore, the first inertia ring 41 and the second inertia ring 42 are not relatively rotatable and are not relatively movable in the axial direction.

  The first inertia ring 41 and the second inertia ring 42 have the same shape. Specifically, the first and second inertia rings 41 and 42 are formed in a ring shape and a plate shape. As shown in FIG. 5, each inertia ring 41, 42 has four large window portions 41a, 42a and two small window portions 41b, 42b. The large window portions 41a and 42a and the small window portions 41b and 42b are arranged at positions facing each other across the rotation axis.

  A large coil spring 43a having a relatively long spring length is accommodated in the large window portions 41a and 42a. The small window portions 41b and 42b accommodate a small coil spring 43b having a spring length shorter than that of the large coil spring 43a. The large coil spring 43a and the small coil spring 43b are arc springs formed in an arc shape in a free state.

  The end surfaces of the coil springs 43a and 43b are in contact with the end surfaces of the window portions 41a, 42a, 41b, and 42b. Moreover, the outer periphery and inner periphery of each window part 41a, 42a, 41b, 42b are cut and raised to the axial direction outer side. The cut and raised portions restrict the radial and axial movements of the large coil spring 43a and the small coil spring 43b accommodated therein.

  As is clear from FIG. 4, the coil spring 43 is arranged on the outer peripheral side from the center C of the torus of the torque converter body 6. Further, the coil spring 43 is disposed at a position overlapping the torus in the axial direction.

[Operation]
In the clutch-off state where the lockup device 7 is not operating, torque from the engine is transmitted from the front cover 2 to the impeller 3. The hydraulic oil driven by the impeller blade 3 b of the impeller 3 rotates the turbine 4. The torque of the turbine 4 is transmitted to an input shaft of a transmission (not shown) via the turbine hub 13.

  When the speed of the vehicle exceeds a predetermined speed, the piston 20 is moved to the front cover 2 side, and the friction material 28 is pressed against the friction surface of the front cover 2. As a result, the clutch is turned on, and the torque of the front cover 2 is transmitted from the piston 20 to the outer peripheral torsion spring 22 via the drive plate 21. The torque transmitted to the outer peripheral side torsion spring 22 is transmitted to the inner peripheral side torsion spring 24 via the intermediate member 25. The torque transmitted to the inner peripheral side torsion spring 24 is transmitted to the turbine hub 13 via the driven plate 23.

[Operation of Dynamic Damper Device 26]
The dynamic damper device 26 is operated by the rotation of the driven plate 23, and the fluctuation of the rotational speed of the engine is suppressed by the action of the dynamic damper device 26. That is, the rotation of the second plate 33 of the driven plate 23 and the rotation of the first and second inertia rings 41 and 42 cause a phase shift due to the action of the coil spring 43. Specifically, at a predetermined engine speed, the first and second inertia rings 41 and 42 fluctuate at a phase that cancels the rotational speed fluctuation of the driven plate 23 including the second plate 33. Due to this phase shift, the rotational speed fluctuation of the transmission can be absorbed.

  Here, the coil spring 43 of the dynamic damper device 26 is an arc spring. For this reason, in the dynamic damper device 26, a relatively large hysteresis torque is generated. Therefore, the resonance peak due to the dynamic damper device can be further suppressed.

[Other Embodiments]
The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and various changes or modifications can be made without departing from the scope of the present invention.

  (A) In the above-described embodiment, both the outer peripheral side torsion spring and the inner peripheral side torsion spring are arc springs. However, these torsion springs are not particularly limited to arc springs.

  (B) In the above embodiment, the case where both the outer peripheral side torsion spring and the inner peripheral side torsion spring are provided has been described. However, the present invention can be similarly applied to the case where only one of them is provided. .

  (C) In the above-described embodiment, the friction member is provided on the front cover side surface of the piston. However, a clutch portion including a plurality of friction members is provided, and torque is transmitted from the front cover to the torsion spring via the clutch portion. The present invention can be similarly applied to an apparatus.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Torque converter 2 Front cover 3 Impeller 4 Turbine 7 Lock-up device 20 Piston 21 Drive plate 22 Outer peripheral side torsion spring 23 Driven plate 25 Intermediate member 26 Dynamic damper device 28 Friction member 32 1st plate 33 2nd plate 41 1st inertia ring 42 Second inertia 43 Coil spring

Claims (4)

A lockup device disposed between a front cover connected to a member on an engine side and a turbine of a torque converter,
A clutch part to which torque is input from the front cover;
An input side plate to which torque is input from the clutch portion;
An output side plate that is rotatable relative to the input side plate and connected to the turbine;
A damper portion that elastically connects the input side plate and the output side plate in a rotational direction;
A dynamic damper device that is provided on the outer periphery of the output side plate and attenuates rotational speed fluctuation;
With
The dynamic damper device is
A first inertia ring and a second inertia ring which are arranged so as to sandwich the outer periphery of the output side plate in the axial direction and are relatively rotatable with the output side plate, and are connected to each other so as not to be relatively rotatable;
A plurality of elastic members elastically connecting the output side plate and the first and second inertia rings in a rotational direction;
have,
Torque converter lockup device. The first and second inertia rings have a window portion for accommodating the elastic member,
The window has an end face that contacts both ends in the rotational direction of the elastic member, and a restricting portion that restricts movement of the elastic member in the axial direction.
The lockup device for a torque converter according to claim 1.   The torque converter lockup device according to claim 1, wherein the elastic member is an arc-shaped coil spring.   4. The torque converter lockup device according to claim 1, wherein the elastic member is disposed on an outer peripheral side of a center of the torus of the torque converter and at a position overlapping the torus in an axial direction. 5.

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